WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Senate approved a controversial $858 billion tax cut package Wednesday, overwhelmingly voting to extend the Bush-era tax reductions despite a series of objections from both the left and the right.

The measure, which passed 81 to 19, now advances to the House of Representatives.

soundoff(10 Responses)

Progress towards not having to extend unemployment benefits again and again and again. It's a worthwhile thing to be working on and this is a step in the right direction.

December 15, 2010 01:35 pm at 1:35 pm |

Dutch/Bad Newz, VA

Tough luck getting it passed in the House. NO TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH.

December 15, 2010 01:37 pm at 1:37 pm |

Rick McDaniel

Hope the House says "NO WAY"!

December 15, 2010 01:38 pm at 1:38 pm |

Dominican mama 4 Obama

About time.
You could've also saved that whole "We're against the President on this one" crap.
It accomplished NOTHING but made you look like clueless, disorganized fools.

December 15, 2010 01:43 pm at 1:43 pm |

Tim

It's Bush's fault. I mean, Obama came up with the plan.

December 15, 2010 01:44 pm at 1:44 pm |

Rick McDaniel

Now we know they are all corrupt.

December 15, 2010 01:59 pm at 1:59 pm |

Sniffit

Dear Middle-Class:

Assume the position.

Yours Truly,

The Wealthy 2%

December 15, 2010 02:04 pm at 2:04 pm |

Sniffit

Gotta love the Teatad strategy of providing political cover by having half the teatards yeleling about the tax cut bill and half of them supporting it. GOPers are already hedging, claiming nonsense like "the tax cuts for the wealthy won't do anything because they were only temporary, not permanent." Ummmm...no...they won't do anything because THEY'VE NEVER DONE ANYTHING. NEVER. EVER. It has nothign to do with temporary versus permanent. Point to the historical record that shows an undeniable causal link between a massive tax cut for the extremely wealthy and a sudden influx of job growth. YOU CAN'T BECAUSE IT DOESN'T EXIST. The GOP added this pandering crap to the bill in order to secure 2012 donations and continue the trend of massive tax cuts for the wealthy adding obscenely to the debt, deficit and economic problems we're suffering, including overwhelming redistribution of this country's wealth, assets and income to the already extremely wealthy and away from a shrinking, overburdened, abused segment of the population whose indentured servitude we quaintly euphamize as "the middle-class." The fallout will be blamed on Obama and the Dems, despite the cause being the GOP...AGAIN. Why? Because there's just enough complete freekin idiots in this country who believe baseless, unsupportable ideological drivel solely because it sounds good and came from their tribe's leaders. The sky is purple, water is dry, up is down, left is right, right is wrong, it's not us, it's everyone else and those aren't contrary facts, it's all just a massive conspiracy to alter reality so it refuses to obey us when we scream and shout and demand that it obey our trickle-down randian deregulatory reaganomic voodoo ideology, etc. etc. Socialists, communists and marxists oh my! Boo! There's a muslim under your bed subliminally converting you by reading the Quran out loud while you sleep! Everyone was supposed to be Christian if they wanted to be a citizen! Thsi was supposed to be a white people country and now the darkies are taking over! Be scared! Be angry! You're hurting because the government tried to help you, not because we've done everything we can to give everything in the country to 2% of you while the rest incur massive consumer debt without a raise for several decades! It's all the union's faults...corporate wh-res buying golden toilets with your bailouts are just hard workers who deseve the best, including billions in bonuses funded by your taxes...we shoudl trust them to manage social security! Who cares anymore. The rich won. The middle-class has lost. ALl we have left is to wait for the suffering to reach the crescendo pitch required for proper revolt, not the misinformed Astroturf Frankenstein rabble we've had shoved in our faces by the comlpicit "news" media for the past 2 years. Put down your hope and pick up your pitchforks folks.

December 15, 2010 02:24 pm at 2:24 pm |

vic nashville tn

WoW 81 votes to increase our deficit unbelievable

Thanks to this bill next 2 years we will see economy growth in China and India

Ridiculous

December 15, 2010 02:54 pm at 2:54 pm |

GonzoinHouston

I hope the House changes the bill, just to see if the republicans will accept the changes in the Senate. I think the GOP would cave in to any demand right now. Even they don't know what will happen in the house when the TP's take office. This is starting to get entertaining.